Leeds Rhinos boosted by 'win it for Rob Burrow' motivation in Leigh Leopards clash says Jarrod O'Connor

The game is Rhinos’ first at AMT Headingley since Rob Burrow died three weeks ago. It will be played on global motor neurone disease awareness day and is dedicated to the former scrum-half whose battle against the illness captured hearts nationwide.

Rhinos want Friday to be a celebration of Burrow’s life, rather than an evening of mourning and O’Connor said: “I think that’s the best way to think of it. I think that is what he would have wanted, he was such a positive person and a happy person.

“He would want us to celebrate rather than think of the sadness of it. That’s definitely what we will do; we’ll think of Rob and what he went through and that’s going to motivate us.”

O’Connor reckons Rhinos can channel their emotions the right way. He insisted: “People deal with that side of things differently, but as a player I’d like to draw on that and use it to fuel me and get me ready.

“What we go through on a game day is nowhere near what Rob had to deal with. He was an inspiration in his positive outlook and the fight he had. If the lads have half the fight he showed with the disease, we won’t go far wrong.”

O’Connor joined Leeds after Burrow hung up his boots, but was coached by him in the academy. “I think everyone who knew him or played with him or got coached by him has the same stories about him,” he reflected.

“It’s all happy memories so when we’ve spoken about Rob and all our memories, it is pretty positive. It is a nice way to remember him, rather than thinking about what happened to him. Thinking about Rob before he got MND, it’s all happy memories and we were just lucky we got to meet him.”

Rhinos signed O’Connor from Widnes Vikings’ youth system in 2019 and he made his first team debut the following year. Of his time playing under Burrow, he recalled: “When I first came over, he was one of the first people who properly looked after me and always made sure I was all right. It was a bit surreal, watching him play when I was growing up and then getting to be quite close with him.

“Even after he got the disease we still stayed in touch and were checking how each other were getting on. It was sad when I was checking the last messages we had together, but I am really glad I got to know him and what a special man he was.”

Rhinos are without a head-coach following Rohan Smith’s departure on Wednesday. That came four days after a painful 18-10 loss at lowly Hull and O’Connor reckons it’s up to the players to turn things around.

Speaking before Smith’s exit, he said: “It’s just down to us. The game plans we’ve been getting from Rohan have been what we need to do, it’s us players that aren’t executing it. We’re dropping too much ball and not respecting it enough.

“I think some of our intent from players like Mikolaj [Oledzki] - the metres he’s making and the line speed he’s producing - is what we need. We just have to make sure we all match that for 80 minutes. That’s something we’ve been working on and hopefully that’ll show.

“It’s up to us as players to make sure we are accountable for what we produce. It’s easy, simple mistakes, but I am sure we can fix that up. It’s not just about us this week so we’ll make sure we do it for Rob.”